Place: Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by Shumista:

4.5/5 rDev +3.9%

Stopped in here on my way to Chicago from Ann Arbor. The main goal of my visit was to pick up some Three Floyds beers, because we can't get them here in Michigan. Anyways this was the best looking beer store according to the reviews that didn't take me way out of my way.

I must admit that I was really only focused on the Three Floyds beers and didn't spend much time looking at their other stuff, we were kind of in a hurry to get to Chicago and I didn't want to spend more than 15 or 20 minutes in the store. They seemed to have an excellent selection of micros and imports though.

The Three Floyds selection was everything I could have wanted. 6 packs of Robert the Bruce, Alpha King and Gumballhead (I found Pride and Joy later in Chicago). 6-7 bombers in the front cooler like Moloko, Alpha Klaus, Blackheart, and some others.

Service was excellent. The guy who helped me out had no problem breaking up the 6 packs of FFF so I didn't have to buy a whole sixer to try all of them. Also he showed me into the back of the cooler room where they had some boxes of FFF bombers they didn't have on display like Oatgoop and Behemoth Barleywine which was a nice surprise.

Excellent service, good prices and great FFF selection. This was exactly what I was looking for. If you are making a similar trip from Michigan and want to stock up on FFF on your way to or from Chicago you can't go wrong by stopping here.

More User Reviews:

This is an unassuming place. Right downtown in south bend. It is pretty small. The imports are sqeezed into a side shelf, a decnet amont to choose from. There are mini-kegs as you walk in.

Most of the stuff is in the back cooler. Some singles, maybe a door or 2, the rest are 4 or 6 packs. A lot of indiana breweries (though there are few) but not all of them. Didn't see any HOTD. A good smattering of Midwest stuff in general.

Overall a decent stop if you are in downtown South Bend, but certainly nothing immense and amazing.

Continuing on our trek into Michigan we stopped for a day in South Bend to go see The University of Notre Dame. This was recommended to us by a couple friendly BA's.

Store was bright and clean, staff was friendly when checking out but was not approached while browsing. Picked up some Michigan locals and a bottle of Three Floyds Robert the Bruce. Was super excited to see fresh New Belgium Bier de Mars and La Foile 2012

They were saying they had a store tasting the night before and recommended those two out of the rest they had behind the shelf.

Fairly up to date bottling dates. No real complaints other than the parking situation.

The downtown City Wide. Everyone always makes a fuss over this store and I can kind of see why but at the same time not. They have a maybe the biggest selection in town but with that selection I saw my fair share of outdated beer. That didn't bother until one person asked if I needed help and tried to get me to buy some of the outdated stuff. Plus it was like they didn't listen to what I said and told me what I should get even if it wasn't what I asked for. Another time no one even bothered to ask if I needed help. Maybe I have come into the store on the wrong days but I just don't get it. Great selection but the customer service is lacking. I will still go here but only when my other store doesn't have what I need.

Q: In downtown South Bend, nice store, spacious. Also has a wine cellar/cooler where they are aging numerous beers. Very impressed.

Svc: The guys in there are always knowledgeable about their beers. I've been there 5 times in the last 3 years and seen different guys, all of whom were worthy. The last time I was there, I was permitted to take some St. Bernardus 12 out of a sealed box because I told them that I wanted to properly age the beer. Awesome.

S: Best Belgian/German/English selection around. Have all the Indiana/Michigan beers you'd want. There are also some hard-to-finds floating around there in the side cooler....there are some more in back if you know what to ask for. Also, there are properly aged beers in the wine cellar for sale. There are also rotating selections of glassware right when you walk in. BTW, all glassware products are $1. Even the Chimay glasses...when they're available. Pretty good deal, as I got both a Founders snifter and a Ruination glass for $2 total.

V: Possibly the best priced Belgians in the state. All St. Bernardus 750ml are below $10, the Chouffe 750ml are $9 or below. The 6pks seem average. Better than average pricing on Unibroue and German beers. The micro's all seem average.

Overall, possibly my favorite store in the state that I've visited. I've walked out with a number of beers that I've been looking for or are too cheap to pass up EVERY TIME. If you're driving through, you need to stop by, end of story.

This has been my go to spot for a while now when I can't order or get what I want from the Liquor Store i help run. A very nice set up in the heart of South Bend with a very knowledgeable staff that is always willing to help out or let you know what is new. Along with what they have on the shelfs and in the cooler doors they also let you wondering around in the cooler to look all the stuff they can not fit into the doors which is very cool. Also a nice walkin where they have wine and some aging brews such as vertical epics, stouts, and barleywines. Definitly a spot to check if you are visiting town or in the area.

Just a short detour from the interstate, this is a pleasant, clean and seemingly well organized and run downtown South Bend, Beer, wine and booze shop. What you came for is located in the right rear and in the coolers along the rear. Expect ample regional big whigs, and a quite respectable imports that are stored together on one large shelving unit. For an out of stater, the highlights were extensive selections from the likes of Founders, Bells, FFF and Boulevard. Solid, but not amazing selection wise, this is a spot thats well worth visiting.

Last trip down I did not make it here, so made it a point this time. Right in downtown South Bend, there really isn't much there anymore other than government, some great restaurants and this gem.Large wine and bubbly selection, but the back corner, between a quarter and a third of the store has a fine beer selection. Large Belgian and import section. Most stuff in coolers, sixers and singles, a few things on racks outside the coolers. A cellar has some higher priced wine and smaller release brews. Three Floyds, Boulevard, Schlafly were the things I was looking for. Goose Island and plenty of local, roughly great lakes area stuff. I just didn't have space for more than the first few I mentioned. Large Olfabriken selection is something I don't see in Michigan or North Carolina.Staff was very friendly and helpful, especially after asking about what I was looking for.Will definetely stop back the next time I'm in town, which will probably be the last since we're closing our Buchanan MI work location.In the barron wasteland that is southwest MI and northern IN, this place is a standout.

Went here on a recent trip to Notre Dame. First time seeking this place out. I have to say, that with the rating on here, I was expecting to walk in to one of the best stores I have ever seen. It was a solid store, but nothing that made me say wow.

They had all of the standard micros available in the area (Goose Island, Great Lakes, Three Floyds, Founders) but not with a ton of variety--1 or 2 of each. They had a couple of coolers dedicated to singles, bombers and the like, but nothing out of the ordinary. Outside of the rack of Boulevard Smokestack Series and the Mikkeler section, there was nothing that blew me away. Don't get me wrong, their selection was good, but I was looking for things I could not get at home. A good place to pick up some local beer when you are in the area for a game and maybe a solid bomber you cannot get at home.

(Maybe the distribution is South Bend isn't what I thought it would be.)

So I wanted to go to this place because of the reviews, and seriously this place has the best selection in South Bend. By FAR. Although it still doesn't have the 120 Min. from DFH, they have everything else. This is easily the best place I've been to. The service isn't great because I'm pretty sure they're more of wine people than beer people, but the selection... oh the selection. I can't get over this. Definitely a beer oasis here. Go if you are looking for things you can't find elsewhere in SB.

stopped through this store for a quick stop on the way out of town while on a recruiting mission at ND

As a student, i stuck more to the belmont beverages near campus and the city wide location on grape road...i stopped in this location a few times but can report it is far improved these days

Three Floyds is in full stock (moloko plus, dreadnaught, octoberfest, etc). The Stone regulars were in stock but none of the anniversary beers were still around.

Unlike Chicago, the selection in South Bend is extremely different than that in Madison. It was nice to see a few Brooklyn brews in the house, namely the Local 1 and Hopfen Weisse. There are a variety of Indiana breweries that cant be found in Madison/Chicago such as Barley Island (including the bourbon barrel oatmeal stout), Back Road, Mishawaka, and a few others. These are all mediocre breweries in my opinion, but its something different for sure. There were a few Clipper City beers, all the big beers from BBC. the full rotation of Bells high-ends, a bunch of founders, all of the Thirsty Dog and Hoppin Frog selections, and some other great domestics. Overall, a pretty damn impressive selection. If you are coming in from Chicago or the upper Midwest, this is absolutely worth a stop for a totally different selection.

On top of all this, there is a pretty great belgian and import selection that is just slightly smaller than Binny's back in Chicago. There are favorable prices especially on Nogne and Mikkeler products and its a more than adequate selection for this region.

Almost all of the domestics are refrigerated and the majority of the belgians are on shelves

As has traditionally been my experience at city-wide, the service was above average

This place is excellent. Nice big store with good layout, beers are straight in the rear of the store and around the corner to the right. Beer all appeared to be fresh, very few beers with any apparent dust.

Selection was awesome, with many beers I had never seen in the Chicago area. Lots of imports and microbrews, and they obviously pride themselves on having some of the harder to find micros (GI IIPA and Bourbon Stout, various DFH specials, and many others).

Service was great too, the guy working was very knowledgable about the product and definitely took pride in having good quality and selection. It sounded like they really push the distributors to get them special orders so they have a really good mix of hard to find beers. He even helped me carry my beer out to the car (since I couldn't carry it all in one trip)!

Overall I had a great experience at this store and would highly recommend it to anyone in the area. I hope I get to South Bend again, if I do I will stop here for sure.

Ohkay so I've been living in south bend for almost 4 years and somehow never knew that this citywide existed. Boy was I missing out. By far the best selection in this area and they have a ton of stuff I don't see anywhere else. They had one giant shelf of Belgians and some of the rarer English brews. A ton of avery and stone and FF and Rogue and one whole shelf devoted to Unibroue as well including some of their limited releases.. I even found Stone Vertical Epic 6.6.6. here. Also had some of the two brothers brewing company beers which are hard to find in general since the brewery is so small. The guy behind the register was nice and answered all of my questions. This is gona be my beer strore from now on t. the only problem with it that i see is that it was kinda hard to find as you can drive right past it without even noticing it since it is tucked away on the first floor of an office building, This store itself was rather clean and pretty large as well, and it was actually carpeted which is rare in a beer store.. Most of the beer was in coolers and I think there were probably about 10-2 coolers if i remember correctly.

Decided to bump up the service a half point because every time I go the beer guy keeps going out of his way to find and get ahold of things for me. He got in some bigfoot and today told me he'd try to get in some goblets for me so I don't have to order them online. Such dedication to customer service makes a lasting impression on someone who is constantly deciding where to spend his beer money.

This is just a short drive down Main Street off of the Indiana Toll road. It is in a brick building with several store fronts and it’s pretty unassuming. Inside the store there is wine to the left and beer to the right.

There is a wall of coolers in the back that holds most of the beer but as you walk around to the side there is even more coolers on that wall. There is a small floor to ceiling rack with warm beer and a few small displays of beer racks on the side.

The selection is great for local beers and lots of beers from the Midwest. They also had some good selections of East Coast beers and West Coast beers. They have a few mix a 6 beers on the top shelf but the selection is limited. I was also surprised to see that many Belgian beers and some limited addition release beers.

The beer guy was very friendly and had some good beers he was sitting on in the back. I asked him about a few and he was more than happy to sell them to a good beer fan. We also talked about other beer that might be good if I liked similar brand X and Y. I did not leave empty handed and I think I will have to stop the next time I'm on a road trip that takes me on the Indiana toll road.

The first stop after leaving Chicago on the Cross-Country Road Trip. We also drove around the Notre Dame campus, which was gorgeous.

I was really impressed with this store. Downtown South Bend is a really nice area w/ a comfortable feel. If heading down Jefferson Blvd. from Rt. 993/Rt. 31, it shows up on the left blending in w/ other store fronts. Once inside though, it becomes much bigger than it appears from outside.

The selection and quality were all exceptional. The wines & liquors were all organized and very clean, but the beer is what got my attention. There were 12 different beers from Bell's, probably 7 or 8 beers from Founders, a bunch of beers from Three Floyds (6-packs & bombers) as well as Jolly Pumpkin. There was also Stone, DFH, Great Divide, Rogue, and many others. This was the first time I had seen the 3 big MidWest brewers and I didn't know how to react. I think people from the MidWest take for granted the incredible beers they have available to them any time.

My first instinct was to buy a single of each one, which would have been a ton of great beer, but there is one major problem w/ this store; they don't let you break 6-packs. There is a section of one cooler for singles, but the only thing which interested me out of them was Bell's Oberon. It was a huge disappointment being told I couldn't break 6-packs because I wasn't willing to buy a 6-pack of every beer I wanted to try. There were so many great MidWest beers that I would never see again. One of the guys, who might have been the manager, let me break a few 6-packs of Founders, but only in two's. I ended up buying a couple bombers of Three Floyds, a mix of Founders Centennial IPA, Dry-Hopped Pale Ale, Black Rye, & Dirty Bastard, & also picked up a few 750ml bottles of Jolly Pumpkin & a bomber of Two Brothers Cane & Ebel. They had such an incredible selection w/ 3 or 4 coolers of big bottles in the far right corner of the store, which I didn't see at first, and several coolers for 6-packs & 12-packs.

The service was good. The manager, after some convincing, allowed me to break a few 6-packs and was pretty nice about it even though I could tell he was uncomfortable breaking them. He also knew a lot about craft beer and I could see that he works hard to have the great selection.

City Wide is a clean, well-organized, and beer-stacked store. It just sucks they don't let you break 6-packs. They said it was because it's hard to keep track of singles and it can hurt their selection. I understand that, but when Julio's in Westborough, MA, which is a huge place w/ an incredible selection, actually encourages the breaking of 6-packs by giving people a % discount. Besides that, if I lived anywhere within a couple hundred miles of this place, I would make sure I visit again about once every few months. The selection and cleanliness of this store made this one of the best liquor stores I had visited on the Road Trip.

This is the place to go for selection on beer in South Bend. They have a lot of the locals that even other local liquor stores don't carry and the only place in town I could find Three Floyds Dreadnaught or Bell's Hopslam and that consistently carried a variety of Dogfish Head. They also have a great selection of US microbrews and Belgians. (It's located pretty conveniently close to the best Thai place ever also.) I found the staff to be friendly, helpful and full of information about the beers I was interested in, and willing to try to order things they didn't have in stock.

Look for city-wide right next to the Chicory Cafe on Jefferson. It easily is the best beer store in the South Bend area. They've got a large selection of all kinds of beers, including lots of imports. Of note was an impressive collection from Stone, as well as tons of random things you wouldn't expect to find (Breckenridge 471 IPA, etc). Some prices can be high, but some are cheaper than you'd expect, and they also had some good specials (like a 6-pack of Bell's Oberon for $6.99). Make sure you check out the coolers around the right side of the main ones, that's where a ton of good stuff is.

I've lived in South Bend for 3 years and only just hit up the center-city City Wide yesterday for the first time. I've tried to go before but it closes at 8 and that just ahsn't worked out for me. Anyway, we grabbed some Chinese food and then swung by on the way home. I was instantly impressed by their selection. They have a large shelving unit full of room temperature beers, including Fin du monde, St. Bernardus, Dogfish 120, etc., as well as other "smaller" beers like Baltica, Anchor porter etc. Huge selection. Then i moved onto the coolers. It looked like mostly six packs at first, and they had some good stuff...many dogfish selections, anchor, founders, great divide, fort collins, bells, 3 floyds. Also some single bottles but not as many as i was expecting...until i saw some guy go round the corner...where they have even more coolers full single large bottles. Here they had tons of Stone, a bunch of trappist stuff, larger 3 floyds (like Brian Boru), actually there were so many i can't remember any more. anyway, it was great. i'm going back to stock up next time i feel like spending some money.

This place is one that a fool could drive past several times before seeing it. Especially if you are not from around the area. It took me three passes before I saw it and said, "Jeeezus. I drove past it three times!" I was alone too, so it is even more weird considering I was talking to myself. This store is right on what I figure was one of the main streets although it wasn't Main street. I took that street three times while looking for this place. It has a plastic banner type sign tacked low on some big red adobe (teracotta?) spackled highrise. I actually followed a guy who looked like he just woke up in the alley and decided it was time for another Olde English 800 40 oz. Lovely area. My type of hype!

The quality, apart from the bum dude leading the way, was pretty good. They had a big ass wine selection. I wanted some beer. They had that too. A big wall of warm Belgian style stuff was on one wall. A few doors of beer, many of which I don't see here in Michigan, were along the main wall. And Bombers were in a few doors around the corner.

I was there looking for Stone bombers (and FFF stock since I can't get them here in the mitten). I initially looked at the coolers with sixers and stuff in them as I thought, "Shit, no dice!" I asked an employee and she said, "Yes they are right over there around the corner." Bingo! A nice selection. I was happy. I conversed with some hairy hippy looking dude that was wheeling a dolly cart around and he was very helpful. I ended up having him toss around cases in the back cooler looking for what I didn't see. He also hooked me up with some empty boxes for my purchases. A nice fella. The aforementioned employee lady's daughter came in shortly after I got there. She came back to where I was and looked for "Trays Pisstolees." I had to laugh.

The selection was good. Hell, it was nearly great. I got most of what I needed and also some other crap that I can't get around here. Stone bombers and FFF sixers/bombers were my main concern and I scored...and how. They had stuff like Upland and some other crap. They also carried a bunch of Bell's and Founders which tickled me pink even though I wasn't here for those. I even found some Jolly Pumpkin beers I hadn't seen at my regular haunt. Granted I paid about two bucks more for it. I wish I had had access to a computer so I could've looked up some of the other shiznite on BA. I really didn't know what to get.

The value was tough to call. I really didn't have anyting to compare it to because the stuff I bought was unavailable to me prior to this jaunt. It seemed fairly decent. I spent wayyy too much, but I regret not one cent of it. That is what I drove there for, and I did it up but good. Then it was off to City Wide number two. Which, consequently, I never found. I would recommend this over all of the other places in the area. I can't believe there is no Indiana BA that reviewed this. C'mon guys. Where are ya?